Storage and dispensing rack for cans and the like



Sept. 25, 1962 M. J. LARICCIA 3,055,293

STORAGE AND DISPENSING RACK FOR CANS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Miohzwb Jlewz'ooia ATTORNEYS" M. J. LARICCIA Sept. 25, 1962 STORAGE AND DISPENSING RACK FOR CANS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 MohaelyJLa/riobw/ BY 5 WW W ATTORNEYS P 1962 M. J. LARlCClA 3,055,293

STORAGE AND DISPENSING RACK FOR CANS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTPR. Mvohwel/ JLarwom 9, i &

ATTORNEYS nite rates The invention relates to a storage rack and dispenser for use in supermarkets and stores for dispensing foods or other products contained in cylindrical cans or jars, or for storage and dispensing of other cylindrical articles.

It is known that devices have been provided for dispensing cylindrical articles, such as cans or jars of food or other products, but such devices as have been produced have certain disadvantages. For instance, such prior devices require that the cases or cartons in which the canned goods are shipped must be opened and the cans or jars removed therefrom and placed in the dispenser.

Also, devices of this character such as have heretofore been produced have not been provided with means for stamping the price upon the cans, thus requiring that each case or carton of the cans or jars be opened and each can or jar be removed therefrom and hand-stamped to indicate the price thereon.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a storage and dispensing device for cylindrical articles, so constructed that a cast or carton of the cans or jars may be placed in the dispenser and the cans or jars will be automatically fed from the case or carton into the storage and dispensing device.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a device of the character referred to having means therein for automatically stamping the price upon each can or jar before it is removed from the dispenser by a customer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this type incorporating means for insuring continuous delivery of the cylindrical articles therefrom, and so arranged that one [of said articles, with the price stamped thereon, is always in position to be easily removed by the customer.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such a dispenser in which the removal of the foremost can or jar at the lower front side of the device operates printing means for stamping the price upon a succeeding can or jar.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a device of the character referred to having a series of superposed, oppositely inclined runways upon which the cans or jars are progressively moved by gravity from the shipping carton or case containing the same to the delivery point.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character referred to having a pivoted trans-fer chute for transferring articles one at a time from the lower end of an upper runway to the upper end of the next lower runway.

The above objects together with others, apparent from the drawings and following description, may be attained, the above described difficulties overcome and the advantages and results obtained, by the apparatus, construction, arrangement and combinations, sub-combinations and parts which comprise the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which, illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principle, being set forth in detail in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In general terms, the invention may be briefly described as comprising a storage and dispensing rack having an upper portion adapted to receive a carton or case of canned goods and having located therebelow a series atent of oppositely disposed runways onto which the cans are deposited from the case or carton, and upon which the cans progressively move downwardly by gravity to the delivery point, from which they may be removed one at a time by customers.

A pivoted transfer chute is located at the lower end of an upper runway and acts as a stop for cans upon the upper runway and also for transferring cans one at a time from the lower end of the upper runway to the upper end of the next lower runway.

Printing means is provided for stamping the price upon each article, the printing means being automatically operated by removal of a can from the delivery point for stamping the price upon a preceding can.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken in section, showing one storage and dispensing unit with a portion of a second unit superposed thereon;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view of the delivery end of the dispenser, showing the printing means for stamping the price upon the cans;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, transverse sectional View of the printing means, taken on the line 44, FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the improved storage and dispensing bin, showing a display rack thereon for displaying dummy or empty cans or jars; and

PEG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing a singular pawl, a singular spring arm with printing means thereon for stamping the price upon one end only of the cans.

Referring now more particularly to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, in which similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views, the improved storage and dispensing rack is carried within a rectangular frame comprising the top and bottom horizontal members Id and 11 respectively, and the front, back and intermediate vertical members 12, 13 and '14 respectively, all of which may be formed of angle irons or other suitable structural members.

The rectangular frame thus formed is indicated generally at 15, and may be mounted upon a base 16 and secured thereto as by pins 17. A carton or case-supporting rack 18 is superposed upon the frame 15 and is in the form of a rectangular frame comprising the top and bottom horizontal members 19 and 20 respectively, and the front, rear and intermediate vertical members 21, 22 and 23 respectively. The rectangular frame 18 is connectcd to the rectangular frame 15 as by the pins 24.

A plurality of vertically spaced, oppositely inclined runways 25, 26, 27 and 28 are mounted within the rectangular frame 15 and extend longitudinally from the front to the rear ends thereof. The runway 25 is at the top of the rectangular frame 15 and comprises a spaced pair of angle irons 29 extending rearwardly and slightly downwardly from the front to the rear end thereof and terminating at a point spaced from the rear uprights 13, as indicated at 30.

The runway 26 is located at a spaced distance below the runway 25 and comprises a pair of angle irons 31 extending forwardly and slightly downwardly. At its rear end, the runway 26 has the upwardly inclined portion 32, and its forward end terminates at a point spaced from the front vertical frame members 12, as indicated at 33.

The runway 27 comprises a pair of angle irons 34 extending downwardly and rearwardly from the forward uprights 12 to a point spaced from the rear uprights 13, as indicated at 35.

The lowermost runway 28 comprises a spaced pair of angle irons 36, extending from the rear through the front end of the frame 15, providing the delivery portion 37 having the vertical stop member 38 for positioning a can at the proper location to be removed by a customer. The rear end of the runway 28 has the upwardly and rearwardly inclined portion 39.

A transfer chute, indicated generally at 40, is pivoted as at 41 adjacent the upper forward end of the runway 27 and is provided with the rearwardly extending straight arm 42 adapted to be normally held down by the adjacent can or jar, and with the curved upwardly extending arm 43, the upper end of which forms a stop as indicated at 44 to contact the foremost can or jar upon the runway 26.

A front cover plate 45 may be hingedly connected at its lower end to the vertical frame members 12, as indicated at 46, and is adapted to be detachably connected at its upper end to the vertical front members 21 of the frame 18, by any suitable latch device as indicated generally at 47.

A printing or stamping device is provided adjacent the delivery station 37 for automatically stamping the price mark upon cans or jars as they pass through the device. This printing device is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and comprises a lever 48, pivoted intermediate its ends to the lower front corner of the frame as indicated at 49.

The forward end of the lever 48 has an upwardly disposed projection 50, adapted to be contacted by the foremost can in the delivery station 37 of the device, and the rear end of the lever 48 has a transversely disposed cross arm 51 thereon. Upon each end of the cross arm 51, a pawl 52 is pivoted, as at 53, in such manner that it may swing upwardly but not downwardly with reference to the cross arm 51.

The price-marking device may be arranged to print the price upon one or both ends of each can or jar. Each of these devices includes a rubber stamp, indicated generally at 54, having the proper indicia thereon for stamping the price upon the articles.

An ink reservoir 55 is associated with the rubber stamp for supplying the same with ink to stamp the price mark on the articles. The rubber stamp 54 is of a type commonly used and is formed of a sponge or foam rubber which absorbs and retains the ink.

Each of these stamping devices is carried upon a spring arm 57, having a coil 58 formed in its lower portion and terminating in a flange 59 connected to the adjacent lower member 11 of the frame 15, as by a rivet or bolt indicated at 60.

As shown in FIG. 5, a substantially channel-shape vertical display rack 61 may be attached to the front plate 45 and provided with a horizontal rest member 62 at its lower end for displaying a plurality of dummy or empty cans or jars of the goods being dispensed, as indicated at 63.

For the purpose of conserving floor space, two or more of these devices may be superposed upon each other, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. For this purpose, the frame 15 of an upper unit may be mounted upon the top of the frame 18 of a lower unit and connected there to as by pins 24.

In order to load the dispenser, a hole is cut in the lower rear corner of a carton or case 65 of canned goods, as indicated at 66, this hole being of sufficient size in permit one can or jar 67 to pass therethrough.

The front plate 45 is unlatched and swung forwardly to permit the carton 65 of canned goods to be placed within the upper frame 18, resting upon the downwardly and rearwardly inclined runway 25, as shown in FIG. 1, with the hole 66 in the carton or case positioned at the rear or lower end of the runway 25.

The storage and dispensing rack will then be automatically filled with the cans or jars from the carton 65, the articles passing downwardly by gravity, one at a time, out of the carton or case 65 and rolling down the forwardly inclined runway 26.

As each can contacts the curved arm 43 of the transfer chute 40, it will tilt the transfer chute to the broken line position shown in FIG. 1, permitting the can or jar to pass down off of the end of the runway 26 into the transfer chute 40, and then rolling rearwardly and downwardly, tilting the transfer chute back to the full line position.

As each can passes downwardly and rearwardly, upon the rearwardly inclined runway 27, it will contact the stop roller 68, upon the rear of the frame 15, and pass down onto the upwardly inclined portion 39 and then onto the forwardly and downwardly inclined runway 28, until it reaches the stop member 38 which positions the can at the delivery point, as indicated at 67a, from which it may be removed by the customer.

When the storage and dispensing rack is completely filled with cans or jars from the carton or case 65, as best shown in FIG. 1, there will be no more movement of the cans until a customer removes the foremost can 67a from the delivery point.

When a customer removes the can 67a from the delivery point, the spring 69, as shown in FIG. 3, will tilt the lever 48 from the full line position to the broken line position. This will move the cross arm 51, at the rear end of the lever 48, down to the lowermost broken line position shown in FIG. 4.

As the cross arm 51 is thus moved downward, the pivoted pawl 52 at the end thereof will be swung upward, by contact with the coil 58 of the adjacent spring arm 57 for the price-stamping device, as shown by the uppermost broken line position of the cross arm 51 in FIG. 4.

Then, as the next foremost can, as shown at 671; in FIG. 1, rolls forwardly and downwardly upon the inelined runway 28, into contact with the stop 38, it will contact the projection 50 on the forward end of the lever 48 depressing the same and swinging the rear end of the lever 48 upwardly, the pawl 52 on the end of the cross arm 51 thereof contacting the coil 58 of the spring arm 57 as it passes the same, throwing the spring arm 57 to the outermost broken line position, as indicated at 57a in FIG. 4.

The spring action of the arm 57 and coil 58 thereof will then snap the same to the innermost broken line posi tion, as indicated at 57b in FIG. 4, stamping the price upon the adjacent end of the can or jar, after which the spring arm 57 will return to the full line position of FIG. 4 with the rubber stamp 54 out of contact with the can.

It should be understood that when the storage and dispensing rack is first loaded, the first two cans as shown in the positions 6711 and 67b in FIG. 1, must be handstamped, after which the stamping of all other cans will be automatic.

It should also be explained that since only a single row of cans or jars is accommodated in the storage and dispensing rack, canned goods for use in this device should be put up for shipment in cartons or packages having only one tier of cans therein, in order that the storage and dispensing rack may be automatically loaded by cutting a hole in the lower rear corner of a carton or case and placing it in the frame 18 as above described.

From the above it will be obvious that food or other products packed in cylindrical cans or jars, or other substantially cylindrical articles, may be automatically loaded from the cartons or cases into the storage and dispensing rack, and as each can is removed from the delivery point, a succeeding can will have the price mark automatically stamped thereon.

As each can is removed from the delivery point, the next succeeding can will be automatically moved to the delivery point and all of the other cans in the bin will automatically move forward by gravity.

Although the apparatus as illustrated accommodates only a single row of cans or jars in the dispensing rack, it should be understood that the same may be made of sufficient width to accommodate two rows of cans or jars without in any way changing the construction. This permits the use with the apparatus of cartons containing two rows of cans or jars. In such case, the opening cut in the bottom of the carton should be made large enough to permit two cans to drop at a time from the carton into the apparatus. It will also be seen that when two rows of cans are passing through the device, the two stamping devices will operate to stamp the price on the cans in both rows.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated and described herein are by way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, the operation, and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful construction, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A storage and dispensing device for cylindrical articles comprising a substantially rectangular frame comprising top and bottom horizontal members and front and back vertical members, a vertically spaced series of oppositely directed inclined runways supported within said frame, the lowermost runway extending forwardly beyond the ends of the remaining runways and beyond the front of the frame and having a stop member at its forward end providing a delivery point immediately outside of the frame, each runway above said lowermost runway having its lower end terminating inwardly with respect to the runway immediately therebelow, and a transfer chute pivotally mounted upon the upper end of one of said inclined runways and having a straight arm normally held downwardly and forwardly inclined by the uppermost cylindrical article on said one runway and an upwardly disposed curved arm normally contacting the lowermost cylindrical article on the adjacent upper runway, and holding said last named article against movement until said uppermost article on said one runway moves forwardly and downwardly.

2. A storage and dispensing device for cylindrical articles comprising a vertically spaced series of oppositely directed inclined runways, the lowermost runway extending forwardly beyond the ends of the remaining runways and having a stop member at its forward end providing a delivery point, each runway above said lowermost runway having its lower end terminating inwardly with respect to the runway immediately therebelow, price-stamping means on said device, said price stamping means comprising a lever below the delivery point, said lever being pivoted intermediate its ends, a transverse cross arm on the rear end of the lever, a pawl pivoted upon said cross arm so that it may swing only upward from its normal position, an upright spring arm having a coil therein adjacent said pawl, a rubber stamp upon the upper end of said spring arm, said rubber stamp being normally spaced from one end of an article adjacent the delivery point, means supplying ink to said rubber stamp, spring means normally urging the forward end of said lever upward and the rear end thereof downward, the foremost article at the delivery point normally contacting the forward end of said lever and holding it down, whereby when the foremost article at the delivery point is rearward, said spring means will tilt said lever upon its pivot swinging the forward end of the lever upward and the rear end thereof downward, said pawl swinging upward upon its pivot to pass below the coil in said upright spring arm, whereupon the next foremost article will roll forwardly and downwardly to the delivery point contacting and depressing the forward end of said lever and swinging the rear end of the lever upward, said pawl striking the coil on said spring arm throwing the spring arm outward so that it will then swing inward, the rubber stamp thereon stamping the end of an article adjacent the delivery point.

3. A storage and dispensing device for cylindrical articles comprising a vertically spaced series of oppositely directed inclined runways, the lowermost runway extending forwardly beyond the ends of the remaining runways and having a stop member at its forward end providing a delivery point, each runway above said lowermost runway having its lower end terminating inwardly with respect to the runway immediately therebelow, and a transfer chute pivotally mounted upon the upper end of one of said inclined runways and having a straight arm normally held down by the uppermost cylindrical article on said one runway and an upwardly disposed curved arm normally contacting the lowermost cylindrical article on the adjacent upper runway, price-stamping means on said device, said price stamping means comprising a lever below the delivery point, said lever being pivoted intermediate its ends, a transverse cross arm on the rear end of the lever, a pawl pivoted upon said cross arm so that it may swing only upward from its normal position, an upright spring arm having a coil therein adjacent said pawl, a rubber stamp upon the upper end of said spring arm, said rubber stamp being normally spaced from one end of an article adjacent the delivery point, means supplying ink to said rubber stamp, spring means normally urging the forward end of said lever upward and the rear end thereof downward, the foremost article at the delivery point normally contacting the forward end of said lever and holding it down, whereby when the foremost article at the delivery point is rearward, said spring means will tilt said lever upon its pivot swinging the forward end of the lever upward and the rear end thereof downward, said pawl swinging upward upon its pivot to pass below the coil in said upright spring arm, whereupon the next foremost article will roll forwardly and downwardly to the delivery point contacting and depressing the forward end of said lever and swinging the rear end of the lever upward, said pawl striking the coil on Said spring arm throwing the spring arm outward so that it will then swing inward, the rubber stamp thereon stamping the end of an article adjacent the delivery point.

4. A storage and dispensing device for cylindrical articles comprising a vertically spaced series of oppositely directed inclined runways, the lowermost runway extending forwardly beyond the ends of the remaining runways and having a stop member at its forward end providing a delivery point, each runway above said lowermost runway having its lower end terminating inwardly with respect to the runway immediately therebelow, pricestamping means on said device, said price stamping means comprising a lever below the delivery point, said lever being pivoted intermediate its ends, a transverse cross arm on the rear end of the lever, a pawl pivoted upon said cross arm so that it may swing only upward from its normal position, an upright spring arm having a coil therein adjacent said pawl, a rubber stamp upon the upper end of said spring arm, said rubber stamp being normally spaced from one end of an article adjacent the delivery point, means supplying ink to said rubber stamp, spring means normally urging the forward end of said lever upward and the rear end thereof downward, the foremost article at the delivery point normally contacting the forward end of said lever and holding it down, whereby when the foremost article at the delivery point is rearward, said spring mean will tilt said lever upon its pivot swinging the forward end of the lever upward and the rear end thereof downward, said pawl swinging upward upon its pivot to pass below the coil in said upright spring arm, whereupon the next foremost article will roll forwardly and downwardly to the delivery point contacting and depressing the forward end 0 of said lever and swinging the rear end of the lever upward, said pawl striking the coil on said spring arm throwing'the spring arm outward so that it will then swing inward, the rubber stamp thereon stamping the end of an article adjacent the delivery point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 388,251 Bower Aug. 21, 1888 392,128 Meyer Oct. 30, 1888 1,080,504 Vary Dec. 2, 1913 1,694,515 Nutting Dec. 11, 1928 1,823,572 Reed Sept. 15, 1931 2,212,129 Rust Aug. 20, 1940 

